Go Goodbye
by d-christen
Summary: Thalia didn't want to say goodbye. A series of Thuke oneshots, starting from when Thalia met Luke all the way to her as a Hunter. Chapter 6: Fireworks!
1. Pledge

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**

I thought this was a good idea. This is basically just a bunch of one shots thrown in in any order. Some of them may sound OOC. I'm sorry if they do, I haven't captured Thalia or Luke's personality perfectly yet. Well, this is the first chapter! Enjoy!

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"I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt."

"I accept, Thalia Grace," Artemis said.

I knew, then, that my mortality was over.

The prophecy would not be about me.

I would be putting a load onto Percy Jackson, my best friend and the son of Poseidon's, shoulders.

I had just pledged myself to Artemis, which meant I was now part of the Hunters and a maiden. I would not think about boys for the rest of my life (may I still call it a life? I like considering myself as normal, rather than saying, 'I would not think about boys for the rest of my immortality'.) I would not be able to even dream about boys or else I would get punished by lady Artemis. I would not be able to reminisce on the memories I had with boys in the past.

Not even Luke Castellan.


	2. Snow

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

This happened a few months after Thalia met Luke. They are out in the forest, still looking for Camp Half-Blood. Anyway, I have _no _idea how Thalia was like at the age of ten. But I thought of her as a really happy-go-lucky person -- before she got changed into a pine tree. Again, this is _my opinion. _Please do not flame me if I pictured her wrong!

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I rolled over on my side and shook my friend awake.

"Luke!" I said happily, grinning like mad as Luke's eyes fluttered open. "Look!"

"Wha… what is it, Thal?" he asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and blinking sleepily at me.

"Look outside!" I was afraid I was going to pee in my pants if he didn't hurry up.

Luke twisted his head around to look outside the tent. His eyes widened in mock excitement. I was pretty sure he had seen snow before -- he was just acting like it was his first time because I was so happy.

"Awesome!" he said. He pulled off the faking really well.

"Can we go outside? Please?" I asked.

"No, not dressed like that, Thal," Luke said in a concerned tone. "the snow arrived overnight."

"So?" I asked, unable to stand it any longer. If Luke was going to keep talking, I'll just step out and make a snow angel.

"_So _I thought we'd make it to camp _before _winter arrived," he muttered. "so I didn't bring any winter clothes."

"It's okay, Lukey!" I said. "We have jackets, right? That's good enough."

Luke rolled his eyes but smiled when I said my nickname for him. "Okay then. Your choice."

"Thanks. Let's go outside now. Please?" I said, the muscles in my face starting to hurt from smiling so long.

"Okay, okay!"

Luke laughed as I dragged him by the hand out side the tent. As soon as we got out of the tent, I realized Luke's palm was sweaty. Before I could act, I found myself on my back in the snow.

"Sorry, Thal," Luke said, looking at me gently. "but you're the most energetic ten-year-old I've ever met."

"Thanks."

I didn't want to get up and bring Luke down, so I did my thing. I made a round circle with my foot (I was still on my back). It hit Luke squarely in the back of his knee. He crumpled forward, falling face-first in the spot of snow right next to me.

"Nice." His voice was muffled, for he was still facing the snow.

I started laughing, at the same time making a snow angel. "What happened?" I asked innocently.

Luke sighed and punched me playfully on the shoulder. "Shut up and make some snow angels, Thal."


	3. Hot Chocolate

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO at all.**

This one shot takes place when Thalia is eleven. They did not meet Annabeth yet… forgive me if they did, I have no idea about their past. I thought this was pretty cute. Enjoy!

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"We lost her," Luke panted, looking behind him once more to make sure she wasn't behind us. I nodded and doubled over, my chest heaving.

We had emerged from a dense forest, fleeing from a starving lamia. Have you ever seen a lamia? I'm pretty sure that if you have, you wouldn't be here right now. She's the scariest monster you can ever encounter in a forest. I've read about her in my Greek mythology textbook back at my old elementary school, and I thought of her as a lame, boring leech. But those were the pictures in my textbook. When I _really _saw her… then, I was scared.

Anyway, we were now standing in a park. A park right next to a busy street lined with cars. I knew we were still in New York. I just didn't know exactly where.

"Where… do you think we are?" I asked, looking up at Luke.

"Albany," he said, still breathing heavily from the run.

"How do you know?" I asked, straightening up and staring around the park.

Luke pointed to an archway, which read _Washington Park, Albany, NY._

"Great. We're even farther away from Camp…" I said.

"Sadly," Luke muttered.

I sighed and pulled my backpack higher onto my shoulder.

"We should go and get something to drink," he suggested.

"Ya think?"

"That place seems nice."

I averted my gaze to where Luke was now pointing. Starbucks. Seriously?

But I was thirsty, so I kept quiet. I didn't want to cause even more problems. We were already tired as is.

"Sounds good," I said.

We walked along the sidewalk of the park until we reached the archway. Albany had _tons _of cars. And you know what's worse than tons of cars?

Tons of cars in traffic.

"Traffic," Luke said. Obviously.

I decided to loosen up. Like I said before, I didn't want to cause problems. I held out my hand and looked at Luke hopefully. I had a bad feeling that he wouldn't accept my offer because of the attitude I was giving him.

Luke smiled slightly and surprisingly took my hand. "You read my mind."

We crossed the busy street. There really was nothing to be afraid of because the cars weren't moving at all. I held on tightly to Luke's hand as we navigated through the maze. After a few minutes of walking, we reached the other side.

I knew Luke would let go of my hand. The truth was, I didn't want him to. And he surprised me again. He kept holding onto my hand, as if it were the only thing tying him to his life. I held back.

"Here," he said, shooting me a small grin and pushing open the door of Starbucks. I rolled my eyes. This was so cliché.

"This spot seems nice," I said quietly, trying my best not to roll my eyes again as I took a seat at a table right next to the window.

"Yeah. Stay here. I'll get us some thing to drink," Luke said.

I looked up at him, and was suddenly aware of the music in the background. It sounded thankful.

"Thank you," I said.

Luke walked away and started talking to the casher.

I turned my head around and stared out the window. It was starting to rain. Good thing we made it out of that forest, huh? It would be raining nonstop, and we left our tent. It wasn't our faults. When you wake up in the morning and see a lady-snake-thing staring at you from the mouth of your tent you have no better choice than to run. Would you stay back and take five to ten minutes fixing the tent to put it back into your rucksack? I didn't think so.

I turned my head back around just in time to see Luke slide in the chair right across from me. He pushed a cup of hot chocolate in my direction.

I raised my eyebrows.

"What? It's raining. You need something hot, Thal." I sort of loved the way he sounded concerned.

"Okay. Thanks. What'd you get?" I asked.

"Same thing," Luke said, smiling again.

I smiled back this time, which was really rare. I never really smile at anything, not even this guy.

I looked down and took a pull out of the straw of my hot chocolate. Mmm. So frothy. So delicious. So hot and chocolatey.

"Good, huh?" he asked, clearly watching my enjoyment.

"Very," I muttered.

We kept quiet, taking a few minutes of silence to enjoy our hot drinks. Then I spoke up.

"Thanks, Lukey," I said.

He chuckled. "You haven't called me that since last year."

I felt my face fall. "It's sad how I changed a lot in just a year."

"Not really. I love you no matter what, Thal. You've gotta remember that," Luke said.

I felt my eyes sting, and I suddenly felt embarrassed. And also a little bit thankful, like the song was stating.


	4. Nightmare

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**

This takes place a few months after Thalia became a Hunter. Anyway, I don't really know if immortals can fall asleep or not… but they're not 'dead', so they can definitely do a lot of the things humans do, right? Correct me if I'm wrong… but enjoy!

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I lay on the cold, frosty ground, facing the stars. Lady Artemis had told all of us, her Hunters, to get some rest because tomorrow we were going to be looking for the Teumessian fox. I don't know what the hell it is, but Lady Artemis talked about it as if it were bonding her to her life. I guess it's a really sacred creature.

Anyway, I wasn't thinking about the fox. I was too busy letting my nostalgia overwhelm me.

I rolled over onto my side and stared at the trees instead. The only sound I could hear was my companions' slow, deep breathing. I figured that they were in a form of unconsciousness, because I was pretty sure immortals couldn't sleep. I don't know, I never tried. Maybe I should now.

I closed my eyes and tried to erase my mind. But something -- _someone _-- kept popping up in my head. I had to wipe my mind clear of everything before Lady Artemis found out what I was thinking about.

After a few minutes of useless effort, I gave up and opened my eyes once more. I turned back around to stare at the stars.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't erase the thought of him out of my head.

I sighed and closed my eyes again, listening to the wilderness. It was a very peaceful night. Great for a nap. A really long nap…

I found myself back at Mt. Tam.

I could see myself though. It was like I was somebody else, watching Thalia Grace from somebody else's eyes.

The only thing I could see was lightning flashing around the cave, emitting from me, myself. Shouts in the background told me that Percy and Zoe were fighting too.

This couldn't be an exact replica of what _really _happened. I must be fighting somebody else. Probably the fox that Lady Artemis was dreaming about.

I then realized I could move. I walked over to get a better view of who I was fighting, and gasped, though I made no sound.

Luke Castellan.

I felt my eyes burn as I heard my own voice vibrating throughout the cave.

"Yield!" I was yelling.

I looked closer and saw that I had pressed Luke against the wall with Aegis. This was the memory that I had been dreading to remember -- the memory that stood out whenever I thought about Mt. Tam. I had been thinking about the time when I first met this guy, Luke.

Why, of all memories, does _this _particular one show up in my dream?

"You could never beat me, Luke."

I averted my eyes back to myself, then to Luke. I felt my heart twist painfully. His expression was so pitying. It was a mixture of grief and pain.

I wanted to tell myself to stop, to stop pressing him and electrifying him. But then he spoke the words I had forgotten about.

"We'll see, my old friend," he said, gritting his teeth and sending me a shock. He recovered quickly, and the last thing I saw before waking up was him pressing _me _against the opposite wall of the cave with Backbiter.

I opened my eyes for real, my heart pounding.

I knew I hadn't fallen asleep, but I _did _have a dream. No. It wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare.

I felt my eyes water in reality, and I wasn't afraid to let the tears roll down my cheeks.

I knew that even when I was immortal, I would never be able to escape the last memory I had of him.


	5. Hunters

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

This takes place the very first time Thalia and Luke met the Hunters. I made Annabeth go out into the woods because she was too young, and she would probably have messed everything up (because of the way I write it). This may not be the best but I tried my hardest! Enjoy!

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I sat up, the leaves crunching under my legs.

I felt a presence. Normally, with my ADHD, I tend to stir even at the tiniest movements. This time, though, I could tell it was human.

"Luke," I muttered, giving my friend a shake.

Luke sat up, his spiky sandy hair bristling in the night wind. "What?"

"Do you hear that?" I whispered, indicating a spot in the trees where a sort of movement was coming from.

"Yeah," Luke said. He stiffened. "where's Annabeth?"

"I don't know," I said. "I woke up, she wasn't here. Probably going to get some thing to eat in the morning."

"Well, we'll find her... after we deal with this."

We both stared towards a side of the woods that the rustling seemed to be coming from.

"Luke!"

"Shh!"

Luke and I stood up, just as seven girls burst through the thick trees into our clearing. The one in front drew her bow and arrow, which was previously slung around her back, and the six others copied. Luke drew his knife and I drew a canister from my back pocket. It immediately expanded into my spear. We were all armed.

"Who are thee?" the one in front asked.

I cringed. What the hell was wrong with her accent? It was like they were in the 1700s.

"I'm Thalia, this is Luke," I said, glaring at the one in front. "who are you?"

"Zoë Nightshade," she said, her voice losing its vehemence.

I almost snickered, but I could tell that would get us a mouth face of arrows. Nightshade? Zoë? Oookay.

"Half-bloods?" a girl asked. I looked to the far right and saw a girl about my age, who must've asked the question.

"Well?" Zoë asked. "Are thee demigods?"

"Yes," Luke said. I almost forgot he was there -- he hadn't said anything until now. "and I have a feeling I know who you are."

"We are the Hunters," Zoë said.

"Hunters of what, deer?" I asked. "Be more clear."

"No!" Zoë said, clearly offended. "We are Hunters of Artemis."

At that moment, a small girl walked quietly into the clearing.

She had caramel colored hair and silver eyes, which looked beautifully around the clearing.

"What is thy problem, my maiden?" she asked.

I couldn't believe we were actually facing _Artemis_. She looked like a kid. Still, she was beautiful.

"Two half-bloods, my lady," Zoë said, looking at us with distaste. "Thalia and Luke."

Artemis looked directly at me, and I felt my heart skip a beat. She walked closer, leaving her Hunters staring at her in dismay.

"Thalia Grace," Artemis said, extending a hand and cupping it over my cheek. She had stopped just a foot away from me, and I realized I was about two inches taller than her. "daughter of Zeus."

I nodded.

"What are thy doing out here in the woods, Thalia?" the goddess asked.

"We're looking," I said. "for Camp Half-Blood."

Luke shot me a glance filled with warning, clearly telling me not to reveal so much information.

"Camp Half-Blood?" Artemis asked. "You would do better as a Huntress, Thalia Grace."

I felt my eyes widen, though my heart wasn't in it.

"What... what do I receive if I choose to become a maiden?" I asked curiously.

"The gift of immortality," Artemis said, clearly enjoying herself. She probably thought I was going to be one of them by the end of their visit. Yeah right. "excellent aim with bow and arrow and great hunting skills."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Hunters stiffen, as if they didn't want me on their "team". I rolled my eyes at them.

"Would you care to join us, Thalia?" Artemis asked.

Luke stiffened up too. I couldn't just leave him here. I would _never _leave him. And Annabeth, of course.

I glanced at the Hunters, who had slung their bow and arrows back around their backs, and were looking at me curiously.

Every one in the clearing was waiting for my answer.

"No," I said loudly.

"No?" Artemis asked. "You are refusing a great offer, my sister."

I felt my mind twirl. Sister. Right. She was another daughter of Zeus, wasn't she? Except she was more powerful.

"I can't leave Luke," I said firmly.

Artemis narrowed her eyes at me. "Yes. Yes, I suppose that is the reason. You would forget about _him _if you joined us, sister. The Hunters do not like to deal with boys."

I looked angrily at her, and she glared back.

"She wants to stay, my lady," Luke said. I looked at him and noticed he hadn't disarmed himself unlike the others.

Artemis looked distastefully at him, and then whipped around.

"Let us go, my maidens," she said, in a soft voice which rang clear with finality.

"He will let you down," Zoë said. "in the end."

I felt like my heart was full of lead and ice.

The seven girls stepped back into the woods, but Artemis looked back once more at me, her skin glowing in the moonlight.

"Remember my offer, Thalia," she said. "if you ever have a change of mind, I will accept you."

I shook my head, and Artemis walked back into the woods.

_He will let you down in the end._


	6. Fireworks

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Sorry for the lack of updates! Anyway, this is my New Year's special. I wasn't able to make a Christmas chapter because, well, I've been pretty lazy for the past few days... or weeks. :) This chapter might sound a little OOC, especially about the part where Thalia laughs and Luke just watches her. But hey, I tried my best. Thanks a lot to all my readers! :) Enjoy and have safe and happy holidays!

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"Hey. Wake up."

I felt my arm being toyed with, and opened my eyes to see Luke leaning over me, the stars twinkling dramatically behind him.

"What?" I asked groggily. I had just fallen asleep.

"Look."

Luke pointed across the clearing. I moved my face to the side to see what he was pointing at. I couldn't see anything. Just trees.

"There's nothing," I muttered. "go back to sleep, Luke."

I rolled over on my side, showing Luke my back. I closed my eyes and waited to hear him lie back down on the foliage.

Silence. And then...

"Thalia, sit up," Luke said softly.

I grumbled and turned around again. "What now?"

"There."

I looked back again to where he was pointing, and saw flashes of some of the brightest colors.

I whipped my head back around to look at Luke, who was watching my reaction.

"Fireworks?" I asked.

"Yup."

"Either it's the fourth of July, or it's..."

I grinned, and my face muscles felt stiff. We've been through so much in the past few days that I haven't smiled or laughed with Luke at all.

"It's New Year's," Luke finished, ending his sentence with a little grin.

"Whoa. Time flew by so fast." I said. I could hear faint popping in the distance. If I didn't stop talking soon, we would miss the entire fireworks.

"What's sad is that we didn't even know it was Christmas," Luke muttered, as if reading my thoughts.

I sat up and took his hand instinctively, without even knowing I was doing it. "Well then, belated Merry Christmas."

He smiled at me, and I smiled back.

I broke the moment and turned around to watch the fireworks. "They're pretty."

"Yeah."

A light purple one exploded really high up in the sky, with a loud boom. I couldn't help but laugh. Come on, I had to have some fun once in a while. And when you're being chased by monsters 24/7 you'll find out that you hardly have any more time for laughter.

Bright green. Dark blue. Orange. More booms.

"Pretty," Luke repeated.

White. Dark red. Violet.

I was smiling too much that my face muscles were starting to get stiff. Great. First they get sore when I first smile because I haven't smiled in days. And now they're hurting because of smile overload. Nice.

Yellow.

Silence. Eerie, dead silence.

"No more?" I asked.

"No more," Luke said. I could hear a pinch of laughter in his voice. "now go back to sleep, Thalia."

I grinned at him and punched him playfully on the shoulder. "Happy New Year's, Luke."


End file.
